Prayer is about coming to God, the disciples saw something different about Jesus and how he prayed and wanted to better understand what it was about.
Luke 11
1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.2 So He said to them, When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.3 Give us day by day our daily bread.4 And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.
5 And He said to them, Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him; 7 and he will answer from within and say, Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you? 8 I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.9 So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!
The prayer of Jesus for followers was that they might KNOW God and Jesus Christ whom He sent. Jesus taught his disciples to speak to God in the most intimate and loving relationhsip they could understand – as their Father. I want today to look at this most fundemental truth of scripture – that of relationship with God.
Luke 11:2 “So He said to them, When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”
The fatherhood of God was alluded to in in Psalm 103 and other places in Old Testament, but generally God was seen as a taskmaster and unapproachable, but Jesus said the first and most vital aspect of prayer is relationship. When you pray say “Father”
I want to look at THREE things that are highlighted in these verses about establishing, exercising and enjoying your relationship with the Father Read the rest of this entry »



